The Whimsy Witch Who Wasn’t: Tales of Xest #1 by Augustine Donna

Author:Augustine, Donna
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Strong Hold Publishing
Published: 2020-05-03T16:00:00+00:00

24

Rabbit brought me another cup of tea. She brought everyone tea, even Belinda, who might’ve been warming to her. I didn’t blame Rabbit. She didn’t know what else to do now that the books were sorted and Zab was out running errands. If I could’ve, I would’ve given her something else to do so I could stop drinking tea but not hurt her feelings. I was on my fourth cup, and the caffeine wasn’t helping the nerves at all. Tonight’s meeting with Raydam was going to be nerve-racking enough without having hand tremors and an eye tic.

Hawk walked into the office, and Rabbit sloshed the tea in her hands and then pretended she hadn’t, even as her face turned a bright, rosy red. She faded back against the wall as he walked through the office, as if afraid he’d send her back if he noticed her.

If he did see her, it was hard to tell. He nodded at Belinda, who was with a client. She looked pleased enough until he continued to me.

“Come on. We’re going out today,” he said, stopping in front of my table.

“We are?” I was afraid to look in Belinda’s direction because she might’ve turned into Medusa for the sole purpose of killing me.

I grabbed my jacket, while Belinda glared, hoping we could stop and get a cocoa on the way back. I’d already had one and needed another in a bad way. It was definitely a two-cocoa day.

“You need to tell Rabbit she doesn’t have to leave,” I said as soon as we hit the street.

“Why would I do that when she might?”

“You’d kick her out if I can’t do what you need? It’s not like I haven’t been trying.”

“I’m allowing her to stay for you. If you go, she goes.”

I stopped walking. “Are you making me go?”

He stopped in the middle of the street. Luckily, Hawk had a way of clearing the path around us so we were in no danger of being bumped into or cursed at. “If you decide to go to Raydam’s camp, you can’t think I’d leave a spy here for you.”

“You mean I’d have to leave the broker building? My room?”

“I won’t fight you on going to that dinner alone. It’s your choice. But there are other choices you’ll have to make as well. If you’re here, I have your loyalty. I can’t have someone I don’t trust staying in my place.”

“But you already do have someone you don’t trust staying with you.”

“How so?”

“You don’t trust me. You tell me the barest minimum you can. Even last night, you showed me, but how long did that take?”

“You’re wrong. I trust the person in front of me. I’m just not sure I’ll trust the person you are tomorrow. Sometimes knowledge and power corrupts. Sometimes it strengthens. I know who you are today. I’m just not sure who you’ll become.”

“I’ll be the same person I’ve always been.”

He smiled slightly. “That’s an impossibility. Challenging times strengthen the strong and break the weak. You might be a better version after this is all over, but you won’t be the same.

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